Primal Urge
by VollendJatara-Jenny
Summary: A Series of "Not So Short, Short Stories"   loosely   based upon & Inspired by Classic NickToons Characters.  Contains Content that may disturb some readers. This would be labeled a crossover, but outside characters don't interact with HA! characters. AU
1. Stella & Miles forward

Primal Urge

This series of Short stories takes place in what the Aborigines would call "The Dream Time". In other words, this was a really really really long time ago. Back when Humans ran wild through the jungles and forests of the world; before what we now know as "civilization", before agriculture, before… a lot of stuff. According to commercials for a certain candy bar, "You're not you when you're hungry", for the characters I'm "borrowing", this is so. However, it's not just hunger that changes these characters… it's mostly (if not entirely) the time frame; despite the "Primal State" that these characters are in, they still have thoughts, feelings, and a sense of morality. This version of "Primitive Humans" actually acts more "wolf" than "Ape" (i.e. Paring for life, typically living in groups, omnivorous diet, etc.). This isn't exactly an example of "The Modern Stone Age" nor is it the stereo-typical patriarchal society. Male and Female are semi-equal to one another in this universe. This was a time when humans didn't kill the other animals "just for the Hell of it", this was when it was strictly for food (though the skins are used for clothes and nesting material) or self defense. This was a time when the other animals spoke (if they wanted to), and the humans couldn't (but still communicated telepathically). "Primitive Humans" aren't as "Savage" as they are made out to be…


	2. Stella & Miles

Stella & Miles

I had awakened from my nest in the hollow tree. I heard an all too familiar sound. My belly was empty, causing the noise and discomfort of hunger. I had to leave the safety of my burrow to feed. I brought my spear incase I would need it.

The world around me was still dark; only the Stars and full moon for light. Another growl came from my belly, only this time it was slightly louder. Almost like it thought I didn't hear it. _I hope if I find anything, it doesn't get frightened away. _I thought to myself as I worried about my chance of survival. I continued lurking as quietly as I could through the jungle.

I came across a patch of brightly colored mushrooms, but my mother taught me not to eat that kind. This was my first full moon away from my birth clan. I had to leave to keep the clan from growing too large… and to start my own clan. Hunting in a pack is much easier than hunting on my own. Until this night, I've been living off of truffles, grubs, insects, nuts, berries, and anything else I could find that wouldn't kill me for eating it.

I eventually came to a clearing in the middle of the jungle. As I hid behind the bushes, I saw a wild boar bearing huge tusks. The discomfort in my belly intensified. Part of me didn't want to kill this creature, but a bigger part of me wanted to kill him for food and his hide. _I must be careful, or it will be MY blood spilling on the jungle floor. _I thought to myself, hoping that my belly wouldn't make a sound. I trembled as I watched the boar grunting and trying to dig with his snout. I continued crouching, watching this creature's every move. Drooling and staring wide-eyed at the boar with my right hand on my upper belly, hoping it wouldn't make a sound as my left hand clawed at the ground below me. I had to brace myself; I must risk my life to keep it going. I grabbed my spear again and stood up slowly as I hesitantly headed towards this animal. When I was right behind the boar, my belly let out another growl. The boar was startled by the noise. He turned around and gave me a very hateful glare with a glimmer of fear and rage. _Forgive me._ I said telepathically to the creature while he was briefly off guard. If there was any moment to pounce, this was it.

I bent my knees and sprang forward towards the boar. He turned around to try to escape, but it was too late. I was all ready on top of the boar; my spear being pressed against his right side; my arms wrapped around his waist tightly; my jaws clamped tightly on the boar's windpipe. The boar was running out of air, causing his struggles to weaken. His blood was running and dripping into my mouth and staining the jungle floor. The egg yolk-like taste made my hunger stronger.

The boar has stopped moving. Instinctually, I used my spear to make the hole in the boar's throat bigger, and shook the body in my jaws by the throat furiously as the blood splattered everywhere in range. After a while, my growls and the shaking gradually slowed down to a stop. I sat there panting for a few moments. I was sure the body was dead, though it was still warm. I picked up my spear again, and used it to slice the belly open. The boar's innards swiftly oozed out. I tore them out, put them aside, and opened the carcass further. I tore off the skin and kept it nearby. The skin wouldn't go without a fight. I used my spear to sever the meat and fat off. Some of the meat and fat just wouldn't come off; I would have to scrape it off later with my lower incisors. I gazed hungrily at the meat as my belly let out another growl. I couldn't wait any longer, I had to feed. I swiftly clamped my jaws upon the meat. Miraculously biting and slicing the flesh into smaller pieces, so it could slide down my throat. I ate as fast as I could, and glanced all around me in between bites just to make sure another predator wouldn't sneak up on me or my kill. The discomfort of hunger gradually went away as my belly became more and more full. The meat was swiftly disappearing from the carcass. Despite all that meat in my belly, there was hardly a bulge at all. All meat had finally gone out of sight, though there was still some meat and fat on the skin, but I was too full to scrape it off now. I just wanted to lie down and let my belly push the meat further down. Feeling more docile and content, a few soft purrs came from my throat as I licked the left over blood off the bones and the parts of my body I could reach. My belly let out a few gurgles, letting me know that it was pushing the meat further down so my body could take what it needed from the meat, and eventually give what it didn't need back to the world surrounding me.

After a while, I got up from the jungle floor. I took the Boar skin, the Boar's skull, and a few of the larger bones along with my spear back to the hollow tree. The bones were buried just under the entrance to my burrow. The skull was buried with the other bones. I was now ready to scrape the extra meat and fat off the boar skin. My lower incisors miraculously scraped the skin. I ate the meat and fat to keep the other predators away. Even with help from my hands, my face still had been covered with blood. Instinctually, I went to the river to wash the blood off. I dove right into the water, not only washing off my face, but my hair, my body, my green stone necklace, my jaguar skin bra-like top, and my loin cloth-like dress that was also made from jaguar skin. My loin cloth-like dress was held together with llama wool I found stuck to a bush. The green shiny stones I bear around my neck are rectangular and are also held together by llama wool. The stones dangle from my neck like fruit on a tree, they don't lie down on the wool or my neck like the log on the ground. I didn't know why I wash off in the river once in awhile or wore clothes, but it just felt right to do so. The river water soaking into my skin felt good, especially when the sun makes the world around me hot. My clothes cover my vulnerable breasts and my vulnerable hairy crotch, but the clothes I was wearing didn't cover my vulnerable yet firm belly. I eventually emerged from the water, but some of it followed me out and dripped off of me. Still on my hands and knees, I involuntarily shook off the extra water, causing my head hair to puff out. Using my fingers and their nails, I combed my reddish-brown mane down by the river's edge. I gazed curiously at my own reflection; just to be sure I cleaned myself off thoroughly. My eyes were green like the stones around my neck as always; my hair was still carrying some water; my lips were still the same shade of pink they always were. Other than the darkness around me, I didn't look like I changed since my last look into the river. Suddenly, I started to feel thirsty; I began to lap up some of the cool surprisingly clean river water until my thirst went away. When I finished, I licked my lips just to be sure I didn't miss any droplets, and then I headed back to my burrow in the hollow tree. But first I got up on my bare feet, and ran up the nearby hill. As I headed towards the top, I began to stumble, bringing me back down on my hands and knees. I sat there panting for a few moments, while I felt a thumping in my chest. Then I tilted my neck up, holding my oval shaped head up towards the full moon and howled. I had no idea why I did this, but it felt right.

When I got back to my burrow, I took the boar skin to the second nest I was building. I didn't know why I was building this strange nest, but it felt right. This nest was kind of like the one I usually sleep in… only even softer, and it had a pile of rolled up animal skins and other soft things tucked within it right next to the part I lay on. The strange nest was being built near the wall of the hollow tree in the opposite direction of the river, towards the hill. When I leave my burrow, the river is on my left, but when I enter, the river is on my right. The river goes through the jungle, but flows by my burrow; I found my burrow by following the river. The river has given me so much, yet it never asks for anything in return. I sometimes wish I could show the river how grateful I am to it for keeping my life going and helping me stay clean.

Instinctually, I got on the strange nest and put my head on the rolled up animal skins, just to see if it was soft enough for now. My legs were facing the entrance to my burrow as I squirmed around. _Needs more dry grass._ I thought to myself, as I gazed outside the entrance to my burrow. Rising from the strange nest, I went outside again to gather some grass. It couldn't be just any kind of grass; it must be tall, soft, and already partway dry. There was plenty of dry grass on the nearby hill, but some of it was too short. I gathered what I could from the hill, and brought it back to my burrow. I leave the green tall grass behind; even though the trees and grass don't move around as much as I do… I know they're alive. Sometimes when I lie down on the green grass, I feel small thumps coming from the blades; like when I run long, fast, and hard enough to feel and hear thumping from in my chest. I never felt the thump of life from the yellow or brown grass, so I only use the dry grass for my burrow. Though I have tried the green grass before, but it's not dry enough to keep mold and fungus away. Green grass is better for food than nesting material, but not much better; I've tried eating it, but after that it feels like I ate nothing. I guess my belly wasn't made for digesting grass that well. The same thing happens if the grass is yellow or brown and dry. Though I didn't find more feathers or llama wool for my strange nest, I still felt very lucky since I found so much dry grass that I had to carry some of it in my teeth. On my way back to my burrow, I started having this feeling in my lower belly and in my lower body. I'd have to give what my body had to borrow from the earth back soon, but not quite yet; there was enough time to at least put the dry grass by the hollow tree. After I put the dry grass down by my burrow entrance, I headed for the nearest patch of dirt, and instinctually dug a hole. I squatted over the hole, lifted the flaps of my loin cloth-like dress, and then I started pushing the waste out of my body. I knew it wasn't the boar meat coming out; I could still feel it in my belly, but it was much further down by now; I couldn't tell for sure where, but it was definitely at the point of no return… well no return as vomit anyhow. I also let some water out of me; I guess food and water work with my body in some of the same ways. This happens more than once each time the sun sets and rises, but I never really thought about it until this moment. After burying my waste, I headed to the river, and put my lower body in the river. This time, it was only my lower body; I lifted the flaps to my loin cloth-like dress and eased myself in, back end first to get leftover waste off of me. When I was a cub, my mother, father, or another clan member would take me to the river, pull down my animal skin diaper, and hold me in the water to get the waste off of my back end, and washed off the diaper, then put a dry one on me. I don't actually remember this, but my mother told me about it with her thoughts when I was old enough to remember. I didn't know why she told me, but she did say that I'd find out one day.

After a while, I got out of the river and headed back to my burrow. I took some of the dry grass in my mouth and a little more in my hands to put it in my burrow. Little by little, the pile of grass outside my burrow got smaller, while the pile in the burrow got bigger. When all the dry grass was in the burrow, I headed in the entrance to make my strange nest softer. Some of the grass was put under the skins where I lay on top, but most of it went in between the different skins in the rolled up animal skins where I lay my head.

When I finished, I lied down in my normal nest so I could try to get some more sleep, but my belly let out a growl. Despite all that boar meat in there, I started feeling hungry again, but not as hungry as before I ate the boar meat. My belly must have pushed the meat down far enough for me to eat again. I left my burrow to feed again, but this time I didn't intend on hunting for anything big enough to slay me for trying to slay it. It was still very dark outside, but the stars and full moon still gave just enough light for me to see with. I brought my spear, just in case I needed protection from a bigger predator that would want my meat and blood.

I ran off into the jungle fast and hard enough to hear and feel the thumping in my chest. My reddish-brown mane flowing in the wind I made as I ran through the trees. My bare feet were thumping on the ground in time with the thumping in my ears and chest. I gradually came to a stop when I saw the carcass of the boar I killed earlier. All but the ribs were missing; another animal must have found it; a few flies were still buzzing about, but their efforts were fruitless; the boar meat was in my belly and the entrails I left behind were nowhere to be seen. Feeling even more worried about a bigger predator, I got on my hands and knees. The soil where the boar was digging was still soft; involuntarily, I started to dig. I discovered some mushroom-like truffles; I began drooling as my belly let out another growl. I ate every last one, but I still felt hungry.

As I reached to grab my spear, I thought I felt another presence, but I didn't hear or see anything. Nervously, I stood up and ran away, closer to the edge of the jungle, a little closer to my burrow, but I didn't want to get too close. If there was a bigger predator nearby, I didn't want it to know where I sleep; it might try to catch me as I left my burrow. In this part of the jungle, I saw a berry bush. My belly let out yet another growl as I got closer. I ate every last berry I could find on that bush, but I still felt hungry; some of their juices squirted here and there while I ate them; like the blood from the boar meat did. I started feeling thirsty again, so I headed towards the river again. I licked my lips and wiped my face with my forearm to get the berry juice off, but like the boar blood some just wouldn't come off, and that just ended up putting berry juice on my forearm, but I didn't care; I just licked it off. I started having the feeling I was being watched again, but still nothing seen or heard. I arrived at the river, lapping up water again and I wetted my hands, brought them up to my face, gazed into the river, and rubbed the berry juice off; I thought I saw eye shine in the reflection of a nearby bush, but when I looked towards the bush… nothing; sometimes my eyes have a glow, but only when the moon is full; the river sometimes looks like it's glowing; the moon must have the same effect on the river as my eyes; I've seen other animals have the glow, but they have it almost all the time each night. As I gazed in the river, I saw a fish swim by; involuntarily, I grabbed my spear, and impaled it on the pointed triangular stone tip. The two white feathers with black tips were drenched; the fish was still wriggling as I slid it off my spear. Its blood was draining from the large hole my spear blade left in its sides. I gazed sympathetically into the creature's eyes, _Forgive me._ I said telepathically to the fish. Despite my predatory nature, I couldn't help but feel sorry for the lives that were sacrificed to keep my belly calm and quiet. But I have to live; to live I must kill, even if I only ate plants… I'd still have to keep killing to stay alive. I can't just eat rocks and dirt; my belly wasn't made for it. It's in my blood to take lives to eat. I don't know why, but I somehow learned to accept it; I can't change it; it's just the way things are. Besides, there are bigger animals out there that would do the same to me. The fish's wriggles have slowed down to a stop. Involuntarily, I squeezed its lower half; a strange white gooey liquid came out the back end, I didn't know what it was, but I somehow knew the fish was male. Luckily it landed into the river and washed away; I didn't want to lap that up for a reason I don't know. I tore off the skin and scales and gave them to the river, maybe this was how I repaid the river for what it gives me. My belly let out another growl as I gazed hungrily at the fish meat; I ate all but the entrails, the bones, the head, and tail; I gave those back to the river. I was surprised that the fish didn't leave his smell on me, which would draw other predators to me. I looked down towards my belly, _Thank you._ I said telepathically to the fish meat as I gently patted my upper belly with my right hand. Maybe my prey did forgive me. I didn't stay by the river much longer; even after those truffles, the berries, and that fish I was still hungry. I stood up on my bare feet, and ran into the jungle again, still feeling that strange presence I couldn't see or hear. Once again, I heard a thumping in my ears and felt it in my chest as I ran. I slowed down to a stop as I came across a fragile hollow log. I heard the familiar sounds of wriggles and crawls from within the log. I licked my lips hopefully as I got closer to it. I knelt down beside the log, lifted it up and pushed it forward as I gazed inside. There were more than enough grubs and insects to fill my greedy growling belly. Overwhelmed with happiness, I dove right in, pouncing on every bug I could find, gulping them down rapidly. Some of them were still alive by the time they slid down my throat, which would explain why I felt something moving frantically in my upper belly. I headed back to the hollow log. Surprisingly, most of the grubs and insects actually stayed in the log. Without hesitation, I began gorging myself on the bugs. But my ignorant bliss was cut short; I heard a twig snap followed by the sound of nearby rustling bushes. Whatever it was has caught me off guard as I still had a very large and plump pale pinkish grub hanging halfway out my mouth; only my lips and upper incisors kept it from falling to the jungle floor. Thinking this might be my last meal, I nervously gulped down the last grub with a tremble; _If I'm destined to die, I won't go without a fight! Show yourself! _ I tried to speak, but all that escaped my lips was a primal bark-like grunt as I involuntarily reached for my spear. Maybe whatever it was didn't see me, I thought if I was lucky, I could crawl away on my hands and knees, and bolt to my burrow.

But suddenly I stopped, I felt something warm on my hand, it felt strangely familiar, like I felt something like this before. I looked to see what it was; I saw another hand on top of my right hand, but it was different from mine; it was slightly bigger and it looked very strong, yet it was very gentle. I looked higher; I realized I was in the presence of another of my kind, but I never saw this one before. It bore a blond mane that feathered out in a way that must be impossible and a cleft in its chin; it had a jaguar tooth tied around its neck like the green stones were around mine, the sharp part of the tooth hanging down. Its breasts were different than mine; they were exposed, much flatter and they didn't look as vulnerable as mine; it had a loin cloth made from jaguar skin like I did, only its loin cloth was shorter; that loin cloth looked easier to lift than mine. I gazed curiously at this strange creature as my head tilted to my right and I let out a confused whimper. The creature did the same, only it seemed happier than I did. Involuntarily, we started sniffing each other; this thing smelled strange to me; I rudely tried to snort the smell out of my nose as I glared angrily at it then turned around to head back to the hollow log. But this strange creature followed me; confused and a little frightened, I stopped. What did this thing want from me? It started rubbing up against my body as it purred, going in a broken circle around me, leaving a trail of this strange white gooey liquid on the jungle floor; I remembered the fish I caught by the river; maybe this animal was a male too. Suddenly, this thing was on top of me; I felt my left ear being licked as the soft purrs continued; I started feeling a strange thumping… only it wasn't in my chest; the thumping came from behind me. What was it doing? I felt the back flap of my jaguar skin loin cloth-like dress being lifted onto my back; this would leave my vulnerable hairy crotch exposed; this thing was either very stupid or crazy; it did the same with the front of its loin cloth, exposing his even more vulnerable looking crotch; it had a strange dark pink stick-like thing covered in swollen veins coming out of a mass of hair that resembled the hair on my crotch… only it was blond like the hair on its head, just a little darker. The weird crotch stick was actually strangely beautiful despite it drooling the white goo on itself; it had a graceful curve, like the jaguar tooth its owner wears around its neck, only the pointy leaky part pointed up towards the sky; under the strange stick there was a strange mass that looked strangely like my breasts and the flaps on my hairy crotch. Suddenly, this creature started getting too close for comfort as it wrapped its arms around my waist. Involuntarily, I turned my head facing forward; I stared blankly and wide eyed at nothing in particular; the thumping started again and got faster and harder then I felt the strange stick touch the slightly darker hair on my crotch. I yelped in shock as I snapped out of the strange trance this creature had me in; this animal was definitely a male. In less than a life thump, I turned my body around, miraculously catching him off guard as I grabbed his upper arms, slammed him onto his back, and loomed over him. I glared angrily into the male's eyes as I growled viciously at him; his and my nose touching as beads of sweat were streaming down his temples.

_HOW DARE YOU TRY TO MATE WITH ME AGAINST MY WILL! _ , I tried to shout, but all that came from my throat was a louder growl. _I couldn't help it. You're beautiful. _, he said with his mind as he let out a weak pathetic little whimper. _ If you weren't of my kind, I'd kill and eat you!_ , I replied with my mind as another growl vibrated in my throat, this caused the male to tremble in fear. Suddenly, I heard a strange growl; I was very sure it didn't come from my belly; it was oddly calm for now. I turned my oblong head slightly and leaned down closer to the male's belly; nothing could be heard from the other body but the whimpers in his throat. Quick as lightning, a flash of spotted fur, yellowish-white teeth, and long black claws had emerged from the bushes with a loud roar. The male beneath me let out a scream of terror as I gasped in horror; my worst fear had come to life. Maybe it was my time to die, but I'd never give my life without a fight. Instinctually, I stood up, grabbed my spear and pointed the stone tip towards the jaguar. The male also wielded a spear; he did the same as I. The jaguar miraculously had missed us. "I have come to take the life of he who stole my tooth!" the jaguar said audibly. _We meet again, KillGor._ said the male of my kind with his mind. 

_You know this animal?_

_He has been trying to kill me since I had to leave my birth clan._

_You had to leave your birth clan?_

_Yes, to start my own clan. _

_This is my first Full moon away from my birth clan._

_Mine too._

I suddenly realized this male had more in common with me than I thought. KillGor had begun to gaze hungrily at my body. "Forgive me." he said as he started to drool. I could feel and hear the thumping in my chest, as a wave of fear and terror had washed over me. Now I knew how my prey feels during its final moments of life. But unlike my prey, I wouldn't die without a fight; as KillGor leapt through the air, he braced himself to try to tear me limb from limb, I ran towards the jaguar and aimed the stone blade of my spear at his chest.

Miraculously, the stone blade pierced the chest, causing KillGor to let yowls and screeches of pain and terror to escape his throat. The male of my kind grabbed the knife I never knew he had and instinctually got behind KillGor as he let out a roar and I let out a jaguar-like hiss, the male slitted the jaguar's throat with the stone blade. KillGor's tail twitched frantically as his blood oozed from his neck and chest onto the jungle floor. The Male of my kind didn't let go of KillGor's body until the jaguar started to droop; KillGor frantically trembled and panted, but the male and I didn't budge, until the jaguar stopped moving.

After a while, the male and I couldn't feel the thump of life coming from KillGor's body; the jaguar that tried to take our lives was dead. I knew that if I came across this larger predator alone, it'd be my blood staining the jungle floor; if I never met this male of my kind, I'd be in KillGor's belly. The same would have happened to the male if he never found me. It was the both of us who saved each other's lives; we must be destined to start a clan together. The male of my kind still held tightly onto KillGor's body as I lowered my spear, and got back down on my hands and knees. We were still panting from the fight we miraculously won. The male gently placed KillGor's body before me as he knelt down on his hands and knees giving me a bow of respect. After a brief moment, I crawled closer to the male of my kind; he tilted his head up nervously; beads of sweat were still streaming from his temples. I approached slowly, trying not to frighten him and rubbed my body against his as I let a few purrs vibrate in my throat. The male started purring in return. We nuzzled, cuddled, and licked each other for a short time._ What is the name you were given when you emerged from your mother's womb?_ , the male had asked me with his mind. _When my father looked into my eyes for the first time, he thought my eyes shined bright like the stars in the night sky. He decided to call me Stella. My mother was pleased with that name. _, I replied telepathically. _What is the name you were given the time you emerged from your mother's womb? _, I had to know the male's name. _My mother named me Miles, but I don't know why. My mother was very fond of storytelling and my father loved to tell many stories. Maybe I was named after someone in one of my father's stories. _, he answered telepathically. We looked deeply into one another's eyes. I started having this strange feeling, I had no idea what this feeling was… but I liked it. I haven't seen another human since I left my birth clan. I never felt this good when I was with another human… until I met Miles. I wanted him to stay with me forever. He had proven his loyalty to me by helping me defeat KillGor, even though he kind of led the jaguar to us. Together Miles and I sliced the hide off of KillGor's body; he took the jaguar's skull as a reminder of this life changing night. But we didn't eat the meat or entrails of KillGor; we believed jaguar meat was poison… if not for our bodies, then for our souls. We gave the rest of KillGor's body to the river. After that, I led him to my burrow and let him come inside; he must have liked it. _The nest is big enough for both of us._ , he said with his mind. _But what's that odd looking nest for? _ , he continued. _ I don't know yet, but it felt right for me to build it._ , I replied with my mind as I rubbed my body against his and let another purr vibrate in my throat. _I want to stay with you forever. _, said Miles telepathically. _I feel the same._ , I replied with my mind. Miles gently placed the skull of KillGor between the two nests. I tempted him to leave the burrow so I could show him the hill. When we reached the top, I laid the skin of KillGor onto the grass. I had laid on top of the fur on my back and opened my legs; I wanted him to know I was now willing to let him mate with me. I gave him a half-lidded look with my green eyes, but he just sat there. Maybe he wasn't interested at this time; but when I got up on my hands and knees to leave, he got on top of me. I started feeling the thumping towards my back end; Miles had lifted the back flap of my loin cloth-like dress; he lifted the flap on his loin cloth. We were both exposed. He began licking my left ear; this made me feel and hear the thumping in my chest; I started purring and so did he. I let his crotch stick go through my crotch hair. Suddenly, I yelped, let out a few whimpers and crawled forward as I tried to escape the sharp pain. I heard Miles back up; I turned my head towards him; he looked worried.

_Don't worry, the pain will go away._

_How do you know?_

_I just know._

I waved my back end towards him to let him know I was still interested. A huge smile spread across his face as he got back on top. The crotch stick went through my crotch hair again; this time it didn't hurt as bad. Miles and I started swaying back and forth as if we were doing a strange dance as we were bathed in the light of the full moon; as we swayed, I dug my claw-like nails into the animal skin and we let out these strange yet beautiful sounds. The swaying started slow, but gradually started going faster and faster as I felt the white goo drooling inside me; the drools later became squirts. I had no idea why we were doing this strange dance, but it felt right. I never ate a meal or cleaned myself in a way that made me feel this good. After a while, his crotch stick started feeling softer. Overwhelmed with happiness, I let out a howl; Miles did the same. It was like we were the same body, moving back and forth in this strange graceful dance. A little later, we started to grow tired; we headed back to our burrow with the jaguar skin. My mate and I lied down in our nest and fell asleep.

Feeling the light of the bright circle in the sky shining down from outside, I opened my eyes. I began to wonder if what just happened was all a dream, but then I felt the warm, soothing tongue of my mate licking my left cheek along with the comforting sound of his soft purr. I now knew what this feeling was; it must be what my mother called "love". This nearly impossible thing to describe that keeps a clan together. I have found love when Miles and I found each other. We were now our own clan, just the two of us, but our clan needs to grow; in time that would probably happen. We cuddled and nuzzled each other lovingly, we could have stayed like this forever, but we had the urge to go outside our cozy little den. I exited first with a yawn and a stretch on all fours. Miles emerged from the burrow and did the same. I crawled over to the river on hands and knees for a drink. In the water, I watched the reflection of Miles climbing up a nearby tree in the jungle; he leapt out into the water with a splash. The water calmed down as it rippled and returned to a smoother flow, but Miles didn't emerge; there were a few bubbles here and there. I frantically scanned the water with my eyes. Suddenly, a familiar form jumped out and playfully snatched me into the water. Immediately I rose to the surface as I frantically climbed out of the river gasping for air. Miles emerged from the water just as soaked as I. Playfully; I shoved him back into the water, got up on my bare feet, and ran into the jungle. Miles eventually caught up with me. We romped about, chased each other, played tug of war with a twig, and wrestled with each other as if we where cubs again. Then we ran up the hill by our burrow; we embraced each other as we rolled and tumbled down the hill. Miles and I started laughing as we became more and more out of breath. Both he and I could feel the thump of life coming from both of our chests. I playfully, licked his cheek, catching him by surprise. As he turned and looked at me, I gave him that hypnotic half lidded gaze he has given me in return. Then we got up and began to cuddle and purr.

Later on, he and I started gathering dry grass and fallen leaves for the strange nest I was building. I still had no idea why I was building this odd nest, but it felt right. I have instincts for a reason; when they tell me something, I must listen. Miles also has instincts; he told me with his thoughts that it was why he tried to mate with me… before I allowed him to. He apologized for that and I forgive him, but he'd bettered keep that stick between his legs under that jaguar skin flap if he knows what's good for him.

_Why was it that KillGor tried to kill us? _, I asked Miles with my mind as I started sewing a new dress for myself from KillGor's pelt, using llama wool as a thread and a small thorn I put a hole in for a needle. _He was angry with me because I stole his tooth. _, he replied as he gripped the tooth he bore around his neck.

_Eduardo was nearly killed by KillGor, if I hadn't of grabbed the jaguar's upper jaw… I'd rather not say._

_Who is this ''Eduardo?''_

_He was another male of our kind I roamed about with. We met the day I left my birth clan. At first we wanted to kill each other, so we didn't have to compete with each other for a mate, but then we grew on each other. Then KillGor came; he wanted so badly to eat Eduardo and I. But we wouldn't let him kill us without a fight. So I somehow got a good grip on KillGor's upper jaw, my hand slipped, and KillGor's left canine tooth fell out. KillGor was very frightened and enraged by this, so he ran away._

_A Jaguar frightened by a mere human? That doesn't make sense to me._

_He must have been afraid of our kind's potential power. Alone and without a spear or bow and arrow or even a knife, we're helpless. But when we join and form a clan… that changes everything. Every time the bright circle set and rose since then, KillGor has been trying to kill me. Eduardo and I split up not long after KillGor's second attack. He said something about me being a jinx with his mind. Then one night when the sun was down, I heard the most beautiful howl in the distance. I had to find the source of that beautiful voice. I searched everywhere to find that voice. Then I saw this beautiful female digging in the ground, hungrily chowing down on truffles near the remains of a wild boar. She left when she was finished; I followed her as quietly as I could as I watched her running through the jungle. Her mane flowed so beautifully as she ran to a berry bush. She ate every last berry in sight, then she ran off again. I had to follow her. I hid in a nearby bush as I watched her grooming herself. She looked like she must have seen something from behind her from in the water. I hid in a different bush. Then she saw something else and grabbed her spear. Quick as lightning, she drew a fish up and out of the water. She slid it off of her spear, begged the fish for forgiveness with her mind, and then ate all but the skin, scales, head, bones, entrails and tail. Strangely enough the fish didn't leave a smell on her. Then she patted her belly as if in gratitude. After that she ran back into the jungle; I had to follow her. Then she came to this hollow log; she licked her lips hungrily as she flipped it over and tore her way in. Pouncing with such agility and grace on the bugs that crawled out trying to escape. But most of their efforts were fruitless as many ended up inside her hungry belly. Then she returned to the log and munched on even more grubs and insects. I tried to get closer to get a better look, but I stepped on a twig. Her head shot up and she turned around looking in my direction. But I miraculously scrambled back into the bushes, hoping that I wouldn't startle her; despite her timid shivering as she gulped down the last grub, she said with her mind that she wouldn't die without a fight. She had caught on to my presence; she wanted me exposed. Then I thought I saw eye shine in the distance; a bright orangeish-yellow-green glow. I grew nervous and tried to crawl away. Suddenly, my hand was on something soft, yet strong, and very familiar. I looked down and saw another set of hands; one hand was exposed with these beautiful, long, graceful fingers while the other was hiding under my hand. We looked up higher, and I got a closer glimpse of the female I was stalking. We gazed curiously at each other, and then we started to sniff each other. Something about me must have displeased her at first; she snorted at me as she turned around; something strange had taken over me; I started to follow her. She stopped abruptly; she must have been confused and a little frightened. My mind went blank; the next thing I knew, she was looming over me and glared hatefully into my eyes. Even when enraged you're quite beautiful Stella._

_So it WAS you that was stalking me._

_Yes, it was me._

I now realized why I ran up the hill and howled during the full moon; I was calling for a mate. But I also howled when Miles and I were mating; I must howl sometimes when I'm happy or lonely. When I first left my birth clan, I howled when I felt sad and lonely without my mother, siblings and other clan members. My father was killed trying to protect my birth clan from a rival male. Then my mother killed the rival male; enraged, she tore the body a part, and kept the skull; she gave the rest of the body to the river, and we buried the body of my father. As tears flowed down our cheeks, we tilted our heads up and howled, mourning the loss of the alpha male of our clan. My mother was the alpha female; she and my father were the only pare allowed to breed when my brother, sister and I were born. But when my brother got older, he tried to mate with another unrelated clan member, but when his mate gave birth the cub was dead. My brother learned that rules were there for a reason… even if you don't always want to follow them. Because our clan was so large, not everyone was fed well enough to breed. When my brother was old enough, he had to leave to start his own clan; my sister had to as well when she came of age… and I had to do the same.

But I wasn't alone too long, I met Miles by the next full moon and we became our own clan. I still miss my birth clan sometimes, but even if I were to see my mother again, I couldn't stay long, she might have found a new mate that might want to give polygamy a try… even if we believe it's wrong and it only encourages inbreeding. Inbreeding makes weak cubs. If we humans are to survive, we need the strongest cubs we can get. My sister and I were both in my mother's womb at the same time, but despite that I wasn't that close to my sister. My mother told me with her thoughts that I was slightly smaller than my twin; she thought my sister ate more than I did before birth. That would explain why my sister and I always fought over food. My sister used to call me the runt. But even runts are given the chance to survive in this harsh jungle.

Miles also had a large clan, though it might not have been as harsh of a clan as mine. He was the only cub his mother and father had. They were an older pare when they had him. The majority of other members in his clan weren't related by blood either, though according to what he said with his thoughts they were a bit eccentric. When he was a cub, he tried befriending an anaconda by the name of Larry, but it was short lived when Larry's mother tried to eat Miles.

_Larry wasn't very close with his mother, but they did spend some time together. _, said Miles telepathically. _You're birth clan sounds pretty harsh Stella._ , he continued. _There was that one time my sister tried to feed me to a harpy eagle._ , I remembered it with a shutter. _I was lucky my mother was nearby; she chased the eagle away at the right moment and scolded my sister._ , Miles was very shocked by this.

_I guess I was lucky that I was an only cub._

_Oh, not all siblings are like that… I hope._

_I hope so too._

I finished sewing my new dress for the time being. Miles grew curious about my little sewing project. _What are you making that for? _ , he asked with his mind. _I can't advertise something that's not available anymore. _, I answered with my mind. I guess I dressed the way I did to try to attract a mate, as well as howling for one; exposing most of my skin on my legs and torso. But it feels like there was another reason I didn't know yet I'd be covering more of my body soon. Even though my belly wasn't growling, I was starting to feel hungry.

Miles and I decided to go see what we could find. We left our burrow and headed into the jungle. It's still in the dry time; we still have four full moons before the green time. I had no idea why, but I was hoping that Miles and I would find some meat. We came to a clearing with some oddly tall grass and ferns. Thanks to a lack of water that falls from the sky, the grasses and ferns were a pale green, yellow, or brown. We lurked as quietly as we could through the tall plants. Miles and I spotted a tapir grazing on a banana leaf plant. He started heading for it, but I stopped him with a soft grunt. _I'll go on ahead and go for the throat. When I give the signal, you jump out and lead him to me. _, I whispered telepathically. I made a quick bird-like chirp so Miles would know my signal. He eagerly gave a nod. We briefly rubbed noses, and then I lurked away as quietly as I could through the tall plants on hands and knees. The tapir was blissfully unaware of our presence, yet he munched cautiously on the plant as if he knew he was in danger. My shoulders were pumping up and down one at a time silently as I drew closer to the ideal ambushing spot.

When I had reached the perfect spot, I heard the sound of someone's belly growling; I knew it wasn't mine; it couldn't have been from the tapir; he nervously lifted his head in Miles's direction. Involuntarily, I gave the signal; the tapir then turned his head towards me, but saw nothing; Miles leapt from the bushes and ran towards the tapir that just stood there briefly gazing in horror; then the tapir began running as well. They were heading in the right direction; Miles began to stumble, but he somehow managed to keep up; the tapir was drawing closer; I pounced involuntarily onto our prey as I miraculously sank my jaws into the neck, clamping down on the windpipe; my claw-like nails miraculously piercing into the shoulder. I heard another set of teeth clamping down on the right hind leg; blood had begun to drain from the tapir's body; some of the precious blood drained into my mouth; I bit harder, causing even more blood to ooze into my mouth. The tapir was slowing down; I stabbed in the chest with my spear; Miles kept hanging onto the right rear leg with nothing but his teeth and bare hands; he must have forgotten his spear at our burrow. That's a very stupid thing to do, but I didn't care; I had my spear if we needed it. The tapir's running gradually came to a stop. Miles and I still hung on with all our might. The tapir was still struggling. _Forgive us._ , Miles and I said telepathically to our prey, right before I twisted the tapir's neck, putting our prey out of his misery.

Miles and I sat there panting for a few moments. Then we furiously shook the tapir's body in our jaws as blood splattered everywhere. We continued panting. Then I took my spear, sliced the belly of our prey open, we tore the entrails out and tossed them aside. We dragged our kill closer to our den and drug it up a tree. I sliced and tore the hide off the carcass as best as I could. Then we ate our fill. We rested for a while. Then we took the leftover meat and buried it by our burrow entrance. After that, we went to the river and washed the blood off. Our kill would last us a good day or two. We don't kill for pleasure, it's just what we do… it's in our blood.

After three sunsets and rises, I had finished sewing my new dress from KillGor's pelt. I still had plenty of it left over after the dress was done. I changed out of my old two-piece dress and into the new one. My new dress now covers my breasts, crotch, and vulnerable belly. The only thing that didn't change was my necklace. My days of bleeding hasn't started yet; usually a day or two after a full moon my crotch starts leaking blood; when this happens, I wear something like the diapers I wore when I was a small cub, to try not to leave a trail behind me and to hide the smell as much as possible. Miles must have liked my new dress; he tried to mate with me again, but he knew when to back off this time; when he got on top of me, I started growling furiously. My instincts were telling me not to mate with Miles. I had no idea why, but it didn't feel right to let him mate with me this time. Not long after, we decided to go foraging just to see what we could find for food. We came across a few truffles, nuts, and berries… but we couldn't find any fruit that came from the trees and other plants. They probably wanted to wait for the sky water to fall from the heavens before that would happen. There were some buds starting to form on the other plants and trees nonetheless. As the bright circle began to go down, Miles and I instinctually started heading back to our burrow. We know better than to stay out after dark… unless it was a full moon.

Another full moon came and went; something strange started to happen to me. One day when Miles and I were roaming about in a clearing in the middle of the jungle, we found a Red Brocket grazing in the tall grass with the rest of his herd. I licked my lips hungrily at the sight of this creature; he had hooves and a much longer neck than the tapir or wild boar. The neck was kind of like that of the limpkin bird; it was long, vulnerable looking, and almost begged for my teeth to sink into it. I approached as silently as I could, heading for just the right place to pounce. He was having a brief conversation; their speech was a bit muffled by the thumping from in my chest; all I could make out was, "WHAT? That's absurd! Humans aren't people like us animals!" said the creature. "Technically, the homo sapien is part of the hominidae family, so that would make them animals too, thus, despite their savage nature, they're people too." replied the other. Suddenly, the creature became still as he lifted his head that had two stubby little bumps upon it and long neck up in the air, staring wide eyed at nothing in particular. Then he ran off; involuntarily, I ran after the red brocket. I miraculously managed to keep up with this animal, dodging rocks and other obstacles that came my way. The creature tripped and stumbled, but he kept going. This was my chance; this was the moment to pounce. I miraculously started to run faster, and then I bent my knees and sprang on top of my prey. The red brocket struggled and wriggled from under me; my jaws were already clamped tightly on his throat. After a while, the thump of life could no longer be felt from this creature's body. I involuntarily shook the body in my jaws by the neck as blood splattered everywhere in sight. I sat there panting for a short while. "Oh how gory and gruesome." One voice whispered. "Shh! Quiet! You don't want to be its next victim do you?" whispered another. I involuntarily let out a growl, making the source of the voices run in terror. "I hope whatever that animal was; its kind doesn't rule the world one day!" said the first voice as they ran.

The rest of the herd was long gone by now. As usual, I sliced the belly open, and tossed the entrails aside… but this time was different; I ate a brown piece of flesh I found among the entrails. I don't know why, but it felt right to do so. Then I began greedily gorging myself upon the rest of the meat as soon as I sliced and tore off the hide for my strange nest. Miles had caught up with me. Usually we share whatever food we find… but today was different. When Miles got closer to my kill, I growled viciously at him. _BACK OFF! I NEED THIS MORE THAN YOU! , _I tried to shout, but all that came out was a louder growl as Miles nearly fell on his back. He crawled away as I started to finish off the last few bites of meat from the carcass. He didn't go far; he whimpered quietly as he lied down on his back submissively and looked up at me with those cute over-sized pupils. I started to feel guilty for being so selfish with the kill. He and I are a clan now; that meant we had to share with each other. _Please… I haven't eaten a thing all day. _, he said with his mind. I almost cried at the sight of those sweet innocent looking eyes. I slowly leaned down closer to my mate and started to lick his face. _I'm sorry… I… I… don't know what came over me. Here you can have the rest, but I'm afraid there isn't much left. _, I replied. He got up on his hands and knees with a smile as he started to lick my face; I smiled back as I let his warm soothing tongue wipe across my face. Then he headed towards the carcass. Suddenly, I started feeling something pushing up into my throat along with some discomfort in my belly. Then I started to gag; my back, neck, belly, and chest began bobbing up and down as the meat from my belly was being pushed further up, closer to the back of my mouth; involuntarily, I opened my mouth wide as a horrible sound escaped from my throat as well as the meat I selfishly devoured. I was vomiting my food; I guess I deserved it for being so harsh to my mate. This continued for what felt like an eternity; the bobbing, the filling throat, and the escaping meat. The vomiting finally stopped. Miles started to get worried about me. _Don't worry, I'm fine. I guess I'm getting my punishment for being so selfish with our kill. _, I said with my mind, trying to reassure Miles. I'd of tried to re-eat the regurgitated meat, but I was worried that it would just come back out again, and my belly still had enough meat left inside to last me for a while.

Two more full moons had passed by; despite how kind I've been to Miles lately, I've still been vomiting when I least expect it and despite how little I've been eating my belly was starting to grow. But I thought nothing of it. When I headed back to our burrow, I had a harder time entering than usual; my belly was so distended that I had to make the entrance bigger. I merely shrugged. Instinctually, I dug the entrance hole bigger; then I entered our burrow. Miles usually catches up with me quicker, but today was different. As I waited for him, I felt something strange. I… I thought I felt something move in my belly. At first I thought it was either a grub I ate or my belly pushing my food down towards my backend, but it was too far down to be a grub I had eaten. The way it moved, it actually must have been happy. It felt kind of like my belly usually does when it pushes the food further down… only more intense. After a little while, I stared curiously at my belly while sitting up on hands and knees. Then I felt and saw whatever it was moving again. I couldn't help but sense a connection between this and what happened between me and Miles the night we met.

This could only mean one thing; I was bearing a cub. I don't know how I knew it, but I just did. We were going to be a clan of three soon. I lied down on the strange nest and I lovingly placed my right hand on my belly as I felt another kick. _I don't know if you can hear my thoughts yet, but… I'm gonna be your mother. _, I said soothingly with my thoughts to our unborn cub. I turned on my side, and I was tempted to take a little nap. I now knew why I was sleeping more than I usually do, why I was so greedy with food and water, why I had to let some water out of me more often, why I haven't been pushing waste out of me as often, why my belly was growing, why my instincts told me to avoid laying on my belly, why I was being unusually protective of my belly, and why I was throwing up. I was going to become a mother. I now knew what the nest was for; it was a birthing nest; when the time comes for the cub to emerge from the warmth and safety of my womb, I'll need a nice soft warm place to give birth to our little cub.

Just when I was about to fall asleep, I heard Miles shaking water off of himself and heading towards the burrow's entrance. _Here comes your father. _, I said telepathically to our unborn cub. Miles was still a bit wet when he came into the burrow. _The green time must be coming early. _, he said with his mind as he headed closer to me. I just smiled; he looked like he was confused by my smile. _That's not the only thing that will be here soon. _, I said telepathically.

_What do you mean by that?_

_There's something you must know._

_Is there something wrong?_

_No, nothing's wrong at all… We'll be fine._

_We?_

_Come closer Miles. _

Miles approached me slowly, still a little confused; I swear this guy's as dense as an Iguana that bumped his head. I gently took his hand and placed it on my lower belly. I felt our little cub squirming about, letting me know of his or her presence. Miles still must have been confused; it should be obvious by now.

_I'm having your cub._

_What?_

_You're going to be a father._

Miles had finally caught on. A smile gradually started stretching across his face. Then we cuddled and settled down for a nap.

Several days after that, the vomiting stopped. Occasionally, Miles and I would stand outside our den as the wind would flow through our hair, and blow the feathers on our spears in the same direction. Two more full moons came and went. Our little cub has grown more, and so has my now more vulnerable belly. When I tried to leave our burrow, Miles started acting more aggressive than usual. He blocked the entrance of our den with his body as he started to growl; this startled me and our unborn cub. Trying to avoid a fight, I coward away and lied down on our sleeping nest with a whimper. Miles started to look as if he was feeling guilty; he approached us slowly. _I'm sorry I frightened you two… I… I just don't want you to get hurt Stella. I'm only thinking of the future of our clan. _, he said with his mind, as he gently placed his hand on my swollen more vulnerable belly. _I think I understand, but we need to eat and I'll need to let the waste out of my body._ , I replied with my mind. _I can't let the waste out of us in here; we'd get sick. _, I continued as I started to feel more vulnerable.

_I'll let you come out for that, but I have to be close by so I can keep an eye out for you. No leaving the burrow without me being able to see you, okay? _

_Okay; but what about food and water? _

_I'll let you come foraging with me one last time today, but from now on I'll bring you food and water in wooden bowls; don't go after any prey larger than a grub or other insect today; I don't mean to hurt your feelings, but I think you're too heavy with our future for catching larger prey. _

_I guess that sounds fair. What about the birthing nest? I still need to make it softer._

_You can show me how to gather materials for the nest. Alright?_

_Alright._

Miles and I came to an agreement. It's nice to know that Miles just wants me and our cub to be safe. This is why our kind tends to group up into clans; if males just ran off right after mating with a female, that would only leave her vulnerable to bigger predators if she ended up carrying a cub. We'd probably go extinct if all humans were like that. I got up slowly and started heading towards the entrance. Miles got in front of me again, but this time he was much calmer. _Oh no you don't! I'll go first. _, he said with his mind. Then he headed closer, poking his nose outside and sniffing frantically as we usually do as we leave our burrow. He then went outside and looked back in. _Don't worry; it's safe. You two can come out now. _, he said telepathically with a smile. I hesitantly crawled out on hands and knees.

Miles helped me up on my bare feet; it's getting harder to switch back and forth from hands and knees to standing upright. Now that I'm carrying the future of our clan, I feel safer when I'm on hands and knees, but my instincts were telling me I should keep switching back and forth between standing on bare feet and being closer to the ground. Our spears come in handy with this. Miles always tries to keep his knife tucked into the llama wool part of his loin cloth, touching his left hip; but sometimes touching his right. I let him use his knife and other things to draw on the inner walls of our burrow. Though the way he told the story of how we met you'd think he had slain KillGor by himself.

We cautiously headed into the jungle to start foraging. The green time has started by now, but it wasn't raining right now. The trees and other plants were now bearing fruit, like my body was bearing our cub. Suddenly, we started to hear voices. We turned and saw a mother jaguar, a father jaguar, and their two children. Miles and I became still as we got back down on our hands and knees.

"Not too close sweetie. You might scare them."

"But I want to get a better look momma."

"Daddy are you gonna catch an' eat 'em?"

"No son. I... I think these things are humans. And human meat is poison for the soul."

The father jaguar came slightly closer. "It's okay. I won't hurt you." he whispered. Then he backed up slowly, back towards his mate and children. "They're humans alright." he said to his mate.

"It doesn't take a genius to figure that out," his mate replied. "But seriously, how many other animals do you see that run around wearing the skin and hair of different animals to cover themselves." she continued. "And fur Honey, don't forget hair and fur aren't the same thing." replied the father. "Is that the skin of our kind on the fat one daddy?" asked the daughter; I don't know why, but I felt a little insulted by her question. The father leaned in closer and got a good look at me. Then he turned and looked back at his daughter.

"I think so sweetheart. But not just the skin of any jaguar… it's the skin of that jerk KillGor who killed humans for sport. Serves that sick bastard right."

"Henry!"

"Oh… sorry Margret. Don't repeat the naughty big people word Papa just used kids."

"Okay Daddy."

Then the son looked up at his father and asked,"Papa is there a way to get them to come closer?". "Well Largo, maybe if we're quiet, and maybe if we offer them some food, they might come a little closer." replied the father. The mother started to look worried,"I don't know if that's such a good idea Henry, they might not be able to fend for themselves anymore. Then they might start to get cocky enough to approach our kind begging us for food, or worse… they might become jaguar eaters."

"Where did you hear that crap?"

"The morning news reports from the Scarlett Macaw."

"If the Scarlett Macaw told you to jump off the nearest cliff, would you?"

"Well… no."

"Then stop being a stereo-typical sheep."

Then the father climbed up the nearest mango tree, shook the mangos down, gathered them up, and put them in a pile between us and themselves. "Come on… Come on. We won't hurt you. We just want to get a closer look at you two." he said soothingly to Miles and I. We looked at each other for a brief moment, and then Miles slowly and cautiously headed towards the mango pile. "That's it. C'mon… we won't hurt you." said the father with an innocent smile. Miles briefly looked back at me; I slowly came closer just behind Miles. "That's it. Almost there… almost there. A little closer." We finally reached the pile; Miles and I frantically began to sniff the mangos. "I think they're pretty daddy." whispered the daughter to her father. Then I started to eat one of the mangos hungrily; I felt the cub I was carrying move.

"Oh my god. Susie, look at her tummy."

"How do you know that one's a girl human daddy?"

"Just look sweetheart… she's not just fat."

I felt a bit nervous as the jaguar family leaned in closer to us. I felt our cub move again. The mother gasped, "She's pregnant!" she whispered in excitement. Miles's head shot up as if he sensed a disturbance. "Not too close guys; I think the one on the right's the Daddy; and male humans can be very aggressive when they want to be." said the father. "Momma, what does pregnant mean?" asked the daughter. "That means she's gonna have a baby," answered the mother, "the baby human is in her tummy." "How did the baby human get in her tummy?" asked the son, looking up at his father. "Uh…" he replied as if he was speechless. "We'll tell you two when you're older." answered the mother.

"Mommy, can we get a pet human… pleeeeeeeeeease?" begged the children. The mother and father looked at each other, and then back at their children. Sternly, they said, "No."

"Why not?"

"They're too much responsibility."

"But we fed these ones. Can we have these ones?"

"No."

"How come?"

"Humans are wild animals that need to stay in the wild where they belong."

"But don't they have humans in zoos?"

"Well… yes, I guess so. But that's different."

"How different?"

"The people at the zoo know how to take care of humans… we don't. Besides, these two probably already have a nice safe place to live. The mommy human looks like she'll have her baby soon… hmm… she looks pretty big… maybe she's having twins… Now where was I? Oh right, mommy humans work hard to build a nest so they can have their babies in them; and when that time comes she starts getting restless and hostile, then she makes a lot of loud noises… oh those poor things suffer so much when they have their babies… uh… any way, you wouldn't want her effort and hard work to build her nest to be all in vain… do you?"

"I guess not."

"Then it's settled, we'll leave these humans be and go home."

"Awww! Do we have to go now?"

"Yes, we'll have to head home and dig up the tapir daddy caught for lunch."

"Oh boy! Our favorite!"

Then the family left for their home. They disappeared into the jungle.

_Miles, do those jaguars think we're stupid and unable to understand them?_

_Probably. _

_Do you know what they meant when they said something about zoos?_

_I think it's when a bunch of long sticks are put together in a way where whatever's inside it can't get out._

_Why?_

_So they can gawk at us and stuff… kind of like that family just did… only we'd have to put up with it all day._

_That don't sound very nice… still, free food… safety…_

_Yeah, but we wouldn't get to live the way we were made to live. _

_Free…? Out in the wild…? Risking our lives just so we can stay alive…?_

_Well… yeah… exactly._

_I'd rather live than survive any day._

_Me too. _

_I hope you feel the same way._

_Did you hear what I just said Stella?_

_I wasn't talking to you._

_Oh right, our cub._

_Yes… he or she is old enough to hear us by now. _

_How do you know?_

_I just know._

Not long after, Miles and I started to head back closer to our den, so I could teach him how to gather dry grass and other soft things for the birthing nest. I'm very grateful Miles cares enough about me and our cub to help build the second nest in our burrow. _Now remember, only the yellow or brown grass. The green grass is too wet and it's still alive; I don't want to take lives unless I have to. _Miles looked like he was a little distracted.

_Miles…? Miles are you listening?_

_What? Oh! I'm sorry… it's just… how soon will our cub be born?_

I looked down towards my vulnerable belly and gently placed my hand on my very swollen womb. _I'm sure we've got a good while yet before the time comes. _, I answered Miles as I lovingly caressed my belly. _You're still not quite ready yet are you? _, I asked our unborn cub soothingly with my mind as I felt a kick. _I'll take that as a yes. _

Miles and I were lucky enough to find some llama wool and several feathers. _Remember Miles, it's best to take the llama wool or feathers to the river to clean them. There might be waste, parasites, or other filth on them. We don't want our growing clan to get sick. But be careful, keep a good grip on the wool or feathers; we don't want the river to take it away. _Once again, Miles looked a little distracted.

_Do you think I'll be a good father Stella?_

_I think you'll make a swell father Miles._

_I hope so. Do you remember what that one jaguar said about the birthing process for our kind? _

I suddenly started to feel a little nervous. _Didn't she say something about all the suffering our kind goes through to give birth? _, I asked Miles with my mind.

_I think so._

_Oh… I was afraid of that. You think she was telling the truth? _

_Wouldn't you know?_

_Well, I can't remember my own birth Miles… but… I can't help but have the feeling she was telling the truth. We'll just have to prepare, trust our instincts, and hope for the best._

_Maybe you're right._

_I Hope I'm right. _

_I hope so too._

Miles and I stopped what we were doing and started to cuddle. He gently placed his hand on my belly and said with his mind, _Hey, you'd better go easy on your mother. It's her first time. _I felt the future of our clan squirm a little as I gently placed my hand on his. _Listen to your father little one. _, I said telepathically to our unborn cub.

_You sure there's only one in there?_

_I'm very sure._ _When my mother carried my sister and me, she just knew somehow that my sister wasn't alone in her womb. Of course, I'm sure that our cub doesn't feel alone in here; my body and the body of our cub are connected by our spirits and a womb root._

_What is this womb root you speak of with your thoughts?_

_Do you see the hollow tree that's part of our burrow Miles?_

_Yes._

_And do you see what keeps it standing?_

_Yes. But what's dirt got to do with it?_

_It's not about the dirt… well, it is partly; but do you see how the earth and the tree are connected?_

_I… I think so._

_Well, my womb kind of works the same way. Our cub takes what he or she needs from my blood, then gives back what he or she doesn't need through my blood. Like the tree took what it needed from the earth to stay alive. Do you understand?_

_I guess so. _

I noticed the bright circle was starting to set. _ We should go back to our den; the sun's setting; it'll be too dark for our kind to see soon. _, I said with my mind as I tried to get back down on my hands and knees. _Oh, let me help you. _, Miles said telepathically as he gently helped me get back down, closer to the ground. _Thanks Miles, we needed that. _, I replied with a smile.

_That's what you should do in a clan. We gotta help each other. _, Miles replied back with a smile.

I went through the burrow entrance first while Miles handed me the llama wool, dry grass, and feathers we found on our last foraging trip together before the birth of our cub. From now on, I shouldn't leave the burrow too often. Sometimes I wonder how lone abandoned females manage without a little help from a male; especially during the heaviest days of bearing a cub. I feel very lucky that Miles cared enough about me to stay with me of his own will after mating with me. Sometimes the male doesn't always stay; I hope that don't happen too often; and I hope if I'm bearing a son that he is loyal to the mate he chooses. If I'm caring a daughter, I hope she chooses a mate wisely.

Another full moon has come to pass. Our little cub has grown some as I grow more vulnerable and tired. Now I know why Miles wanted us to stay in the burrow; I'll need all the energy I can get when the time comes for our cub to emerge from my even more swollen womb. As we felt the warmth of the bright circle, Miles and I drowsily opened our eyes. We gasped in horror as we saw a Tarantula had snuck into our burrow! Involuntarily, we grabbed our spears and tried to flush it outside; screeches and shrieks escaping our throats as we saw it move slightly closer! Then it started jerkily turning around in the opposite direction. We bobbed and weaved back and forth as we tried to make it leave our burrow. Eventually, we got it outside; frantically, we started smacking it with our spears as our shrieks and screeches of terror continued as loud as ever; we didn't want it's entrails spilling out in our burrow. We might never get that mess cleaned up if we smashed it in our den. Eventually, we started to become out of breath as the frantic beatings of our spears slowed down. After catching our breaths, Miles poked the body; just to be sure the tarantula was dead.

_Are you alright Stella? Has the birthing process begun? _

_We're fine; we were just frightened. And no… not yet; our cub still has some growing to do before birth. _

Then we dug a hole, buried the body, and washed ourselves off in the river. Miles and I shook ourselves off, but I didn't shake as hard as I did before I realized I was bearing a cub and we headed back to our burrow. I still have three or four full moons left before I give birth, but for a reason I don't know, I didn't want him to know how long before that time would come yet. I can't believe I lost track of how many full moons I have left, but I guess it don't matter; I have a strong feeling that I'll know when it would be very very soon. When we returned, Miles asked me, _Are you two hungry?_ ; even after all that chaos with the large spider, I still had a strong desire to eat. Then again, whatever I eat, the cub will eat as well. The womb root and life vine help feed the cub until he or she is ready to emerge from my warm and safe womb. Just when I was about to try and exit our burrow, I stopped.

_Oh, that's right; you said you'd bring us food didn't you?_

_Yes, I'm glad you remembered. Before I leave, do you need to let out waste?_

_No, at least not now; but could you get us some water before you go? _

_Sure thing Stella._

Then we rubbed noses and Miles left hesitantly. _Don't worry, we'll be fine. _, I said telepathically not long before Miles had left the burrow. Miles had instinctually been carving those wooden bowls since before he and I met; one day, while I was working on my new dress from KillGor's pelt, Miles told me that he had to go back to his old bachelor's den to get something. Since he and I were a clan now, I trusted him; and he didn't take long to return. I saw what he brought back; I asked him what they were for; at the time he didn't know yet until last full moon. Even though he's been bringing me and our unborn cub food and water since then, I still have a hard time remembering despite how tired I have been lately. Sometimes while I try to sleep, the cub squirms around and kicks fast and hard; but it's not really painful… unless the cub jabs me in the ribs, but I know it's not on purpose. He or she can't speak with his or her thoughts yet, but somehow I just know the jabs aren't on purpose. I love our little cub either way; but it's a different kind of love than the love Miles and I share.

I love our cub the way my mother loved me, my brother, and my sister. I love Miles the way my mother loved my father. Even though I, my brother, and sister aren't with mother anymore, I have a feeling she still loves us. I have a feeling mother and father still love each other, even though father is in the spirit world. Father might be dead, but sometimes I still feel his presence like… like he's still watching out for me. Most of the time, it was he who had to rescue me from my sister. But he did want me to know how to protect myself. He taught me never to give my life without a fight; I'll always remember him for that, his kindness, and his wisdom. Though he was disappointed that my siblings and I didn't get along too well, he still loved us with every fiber of his being. Father and I loved to look at the stars when we could see them; we would lie on the grass and talk to each other with our thoughts. Sometimes we would romp about and wrestle playfully under the stars. I was sixteen green and dry times old when he died protecting my birth clan. I felt great sorrow for a long time. Sometimes I still see and hear father in my dreams. He would reassure me that he was in a better place and even though I couldn't see him… part of him was still alive; his spirit was still with me.

Now that I'm bearing a cub, my father still visits my dreams now more than ever. Sometimes he shows me these strange visions of a different time and place; things I've never seen before; things that I can't even describe; a strange world that's broken in pieces, only the great water is between them; yet our kind is able to go to these different pieces in less than a day. Our kind crawling into things that crawl or fly faster than we do with a strange smoke that comes out the back end; Humans flying on purpose… so strange; I'd of died if I let that harpy eagle take me with her; but we don't need feathers or our own wings to fly; our kind just would crawl into these shiny, hard, cold, birds that don't need to flap their wings when they fly. My father told me that this was our distant future in a different world. A world where most of our kind could get food more easily, but the meal would still have a price to pay. A world where our kind would still cover ourselves, only with something different looking than what we do now. A world where mothers don't have to feed their cubs by the breast, instead a weird false breast and teat would be used. But that world would still have drought and famine. There would still be love, war, life, death, food, water, and clans. I may never make sense of these dreams, but even if I did, they probably wouldn't stop either way. 

Miles returned shortly with our water. I have told him about these strange visions of the distant future before, but he was even more confused by them than I. My thirst grew quickly as I heard Miles approaching. I licked my lips hopefully as I saw him enter. When we reunited, we cuddled briefly as he gently caressed my vulnerable swollen belly and our cub squirmed as if in joy. _I think our cub missed you Miles. _, I said soothingly with my mind as our cub kicked under my mate's hand. Miles was still in awe that life was growing in my body; I still feel the same. We stopped cuddling long enough for me to kneel down and lap up the water in the bowl he fetched me from the river. I gulped down every last drop I could get down my throat for me and our cub. I licked my lips just to be sure I didn't miss any droplets as always, only I had another reason for this now. _I hope you won't be gone too long when you go foraging; I might need to let water out of me soon. _, I said with my mind as I now worried about the change in my releasing of water. _Don't worry; I'll do my best to hurry. Just try to relax while you can._ , replied Miles telepathically as he gently rubbed the side of his body against mine. Then he hesitantly left our den again in hopes of getting food for me and the unborn future. We're not like the other animals; we have to be fed each time the bright circle sets and rises, especially if there's a new life on the way.

As I waited for his return, a large millipede had crawled by. Involuntarily, I snatched it up in my jaws and bit it so it wouldn't put up much of a fight. I devoured it head first in very little time as it crunched with each bite. Unlike most other millipedes, this kind doesn't sweat poison. We try to avoid the kind that does sweat poison. Though it didn't satisfy our hunger, I did feel calmer after eating. In some of my dreams of our kind's future, our descendants are disgusted with the idea of eating what they would call 'creepy crawlies'. Miles and I find that strange. He thinks my dreams may have no meaning, but I'm not so sure. I decided to take my mate's advice and try to relax. I closed my eyes and tried to take a light nap. Suddenly, I had the urge to dig towards the back of the burrow; as always, I couldn't ignore my instincts. So I dug just far enough from the pile of rolled-up animal skins so the birthing nest wouldn't fall in, but far enough from the walls of the hollow tree so it wouldn't collapse the whole burrow around me. I didn't dig too deep, but the hole was big enough for me, my mate, and our cub to use as a place to let waste out of our bodies if need be. If we needed to, we could dig it bigger and deeper at another time. This little chamber was dug miraculously quickly. I climbed back out, and swept out the extra dirt. I shook and brushed off all of the dirt I could; I didn't want too much to come off, this would attract parasites that want my blood.

Just when I was about to lie down, I heard the sound of familiar footsteps. Miles must have returned with our food; I eagerly licked my lips in hopes that he managed to find something. As he entered our burrow, I was tempted to playfully pounce on him, and smother him with both kisses and tongue kisses, but I was far too heavy with the near future of our clan. _Your father's back. _, I said telepathically to our unborn cub as I headed towards Miles. We reunited once again, nuzzling, cuddling, hugging, and embracing. Miles had noticed I was still slightly covered in soil. _You must have been busy. _, he said with his mind as he got a good look at me. _My instincts told me to dig a chamber for letting out waste, so we won't have to hold it until sunrise… and for when I'm too heavy to leave the burrow at all. _, I replied with my thoughts.

_Why didn't I think of that?_

_Did you have any luck finding anything?_

_Believe it or not, I did._

_Oh good, we were getting worried, and pretty hungry._

Miles then backed out slowly; I poked my head out of the entrance and saw that he caught a large tapir. It looked as though it was a fresh kill; it still had some blood running out of the neck and chest. The belly hadn't even been sliced open yet. Miles had gotten out his knife so he could remove the entrails and save the pelt for the birthing nest. He somehow remembered to save the brown piece of flesh from among the entrails for me and our unborn cub. The other entrails were given to the river, while the brown flesh was put into a wooden bowl along with some nuts, berries, mangos, fish, and the red tapir meat. I turned around and headed for the birthing nest so I could lie down briefly. Miles then reentered our den with the wooden bowl in his right hand. He steadily drew closer to us as he held the bowl closer to me. I sat back up and gently took the bowl. Despite how hungry we were, I ate very calmly, yet swiftly as I savored the assorted foods. I let Miles gently caress my vulnerable swollen belly. Despite my mate's klutziness, he has managed to keep us well fed.

Our cub still lives and thrives in the warmth and safety of my womb; but the real challenge will be birth and life outside the womb. Both I and the cub will be taking a risk when that time comes; sometimes cubs grow too big and can't come out; this kills both the mother and cub. Other times the cub doesn't emerge quick enough to take in the first breath of life outside; the life vine could get tangled around the throat or have a knot tied in it; the water sack might not be removed from the face quickly enough. There's no way of knowing of these things until they happen.

Hopefully, the birth will go smoothly like mine and my sister's must of. After all, I did survive long enough to find a mate and end up bearing a cub; so much for being the runt of the two cub litter. If I never told Miles telepathically that I was slightly smaller than my sister, he may have never known… even if he was less dense than he is; I have grown significantly since I was a cub. This being my first time bearing a cub doesn't make it any easier for me. I am grateful Mother tried to teach me certain things so I would be at least a little prepared. Certain things on the other hand I'll have to trust my instincts with. Mother never said much about whether or not it's painful; the first I ever heard mention of it was from the lips of the mother jaguar from last full moon. I still feel uneasy about that; but there isn't anything I can do to change it now, even if I could, my pre-maternal instincts could keep me from doing so. Our clan needs to grow; we can't just depend on outsiders joining with us; we'd go extinct if no one took the risk of their lives to bring life into this world. I still can't help but make a connection between our unborn cub and that strange dance I let Miles do with me the night we met. When we first met, at first I was displeased with his aroma, but then after we had slain KillGor in self defense, I started to find both he and his scent to be intoxicating and irresistible. So I grew attached to Miles and let him mate with me… then three full moons later I realized I was to become a mother.

I wouldn't say I was eating for two, but I have been eating more frequently and gulping down more food than usual now that I haven't vomited in quite some time. The irresistible smell of fresh blood and fruit gradually faded away from the bowl as the food disappeared down my throat. As I finished, I licked the bowl clean just to be sure our cub will get all he or she will need from what I ate. Now that the wooden bowl was spotless, I licked my lips just to be sure that I didn't miss any precious little morsels and so I could stay clean. Miles and I don't need any bigger predators wandering too close to our den, especially with a cub on the way. _You two still hungry?_ , Miles asked me with his mind. _I think we've had enough for now._ , I replied telepathically as I was half sitting up and lying down on the rolled up animal skins and the birthing nest, still licking my lips as I placed my left hand on my swollen womb and began feeling quite full. Miles had left briefly so he could bury the rest of the kill for later.

Our unborn cub began squirming and kicking quite fast not long after Miles returned and gently placed his right hand on my vulnerable belly. I placed my hand on top of his. We nuzzled and cuddled briefly; I began to lick my mate's face thoroughly, I had no idea why I did this, but it felt right. Shortly after I stopped, he began licking my face in return. I lied down on my side as I began to purr. Miles continued licking my face as he started to purr as well. I started to grow sleepy, _Please Miles, let me rest. _, I said with my mind as I yawned and stretched my body. The gentle licking had stopped. I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

Almost three full moons have come to pass. Tonight will be my ninth full moon with my mate. I have grown too heavy with our cub now to leave the den at all. I now use the little chamber in the back of our den to let out waste and the water my body borrowed from the river. Good thing Miles gathered plenty of leaves for me to wipe off excess filth like I usually do. I only sometimes used the river to keep my back end extra clean, but I won't be able to do that again for a while. My instincts were telling me that I could be giving birth to our cub very soon. My belly has grown quite large, making me very vulnerable to bigger predators. At first Miles didn't want to leave us to go foraging, but I reassured him that we would be fine, but I didn't say that it could be anytime now that our little cub would be born; I didn't want him to get too worried about us.

For the past three full moons he started gathering twigs and whatnot for a reason neither of us know yet. He even helped me sew several little diapers for our son or daughter. It's been getting hard for me to sleep despite how tired I feel at times. Tossing and turning so I could try to find a comfortable position to lie in, but those efforts are mostly fruitless. Usually I get very fed up and agitated quickly by this, so I just go and lie down in the birthing nest for a while. Sometimes even there I find it hard to get in a comfortable pose.

Our cub hasn't been moving around as much, but I still feel movement as well as the thump of life from his or her chest. Sometimes I'd even let Miles gently press his ear to my belly and let him listen to my very swollen womb. By next full moon, the dry time will return. The river will be getting skinnier again soon. We were lucky the river didn't swell up big enough to flood our burrow. I guess I managed to find the perfect place for our den.

As we waited for Miles to return, a bluish-green dung beetle had crawled by rolling a ball of waste out of our burrow. Mother had taught me not to eat these things; they take the waste out and make use of it. _I guess even waste never gets wasted._ , I said telepathically to our unborn cub. I couldn't of eaten the beetle if I wanted to, I didn't have that strong of a desire to eat. After the dung beetle left, I gently started caressing my very swollen vulnerable belly. _You're taking your sweet time in there aren't you? _, I asked our unborn cub telepathically. I felt a tiny squirm; I chuckled quietly, _I'll take that as a yes. _I had the urge to get out of the birthing nest; I made a quick visit to the waste chamber so I could let some water out of me. Then I lied down in our usual sleeping nest in hopes that I might get some more sleep.

Not long after I closed my eyes, I felt an extra presence. To our shock and horror, a large pale anaconda had snuck her way into our den! I shot up and leaned closer to the wall of the hollow tree as I feebly tried to shield my distended belly from her. The thumping in my chest grew very fast and hard; I knew better than to look a bigger predator in the eyes feeling so much fear; she'd probably have killed me for sure if that had happened. I was very still for a while, but then I remembered that I must live to keep our clan growing; I couldn't let myself die… especially not now. Our cub needs the chance to live. I stood my ground as I let a growl vibrate in my throat. The anaconda backed up as if in fear as I got back down on my hands and knees in hopes that our unborn cub would be better protected. Then she drew closer again. The anaconda hissed; I hissed back with every bit of rage I could; she sat up higher towards my eye level; we glared hatefully into each other's eyes. My left hand was still gently pressed against my vulnerable belly, while my right hand was used to distract her from the rest of my body. Just when she was about to sink her teeth into my arm, my jaws were already clamped down tightly where the back of her head and neck connect. Miraculously, she didn't struggle too hard; no trying to toss me across the burrow. She let out a loud scream as I dug my claw-like nails into her skin and pulled her scales towards her face. Her blood ran from her pale yellow and white body onto the dirt floor of our den. As the anaconda made her last struggles, I heard a familiar yelp. Miles must have come back. The thump of life could no longer be felt from her body; I shook the head in my jaws briefly, just to be sure the anaconda was dead. Then I slowly let go. Miles looked like he was either overwhelmingly frightened or in awe. He quickly drew closer to me and began licking the blood off of my face. Then we nuzzled, cuddled, and purred briefly. Miles took the body outside and removed the skull, then gave the rest of the anaconda's body to the river.

As I watched him return with a bowl of water, I had noticed the sun had started to set; but even with a full moon tonight, I wouldn't feel up to going outside for a while. Miles put the bowl down next to me as I lied down in our usual sleeping nest again. Then he headed outside for a while; he returned with another bowl filled to the rim with food. As he placed the food next to us, I rolled over facing away from the food. He must have been a little confused.

_Stella, are you alright?_

_I'm just not very hungry right now. _

_Are you sure? You haven't eaten much today. _

_I'll be fine; I really would rather sleep right now. _

Miles just shrugged and put our food aside. Then he and I settled down and went to sleep. I woke up briefly to find Miles licking my face.

_How much longer now?_

_About three or four full moons; I lost track._

_When did you lose track?_

_About three or four full moons ago._

The gentle licking abruptly stopped. Miles then briefly glanced at my very swollen belly. _That means…_, he was telepathically speechless. I nodded briefly, and then playfully licked his nose. _It could be any time now. _, I replied calmly as I gazed lovingly at my very swollen womb. The gentle licking continued. Then we settled back down and tried to get more sleep.

Suddenly, I started to awaken again as I started to feel strangely uncomfortable. At first I thought nothing of it and tried to go back to sleep, but that feeling intensified into a very sharp pain towards my backend as well as a tightening feeling in my belly. Involuntarily, I let out a yelp as I dug my nails deep into our sleeping nest. My instincts told me to head for the birthing nest. Luckily, I didn't have far to go. Still on my hands and knees, I frantically started to dig for a short while, but then stopped. I began clawing firmly, yet gently at the birthing nest as I tried to fluff it up and make it even softer. Then I sat up squatting in front of the rolled-up animal skins as I started panting and gasping, hoping that the pain would go away. Then I felt like lying down as I spread my legs open. Miles then approached me, looking confused and very worried. I looked up at him with wide eyes and a feeble whimper seeing that it was dark outside through a corner of my right eye. _Stella, are you alright? _, Miles asked me with his mind still looking worried. _You're about to become a father._ , I replied telepathically. Miles still looked quite worried as he tried to nuzzle and comfort me.

_Build a fire._

_What?_

_When the time comes, the birth will make a smell; the smell will attract bigger predators. The fire will help hide the smell; the smoke and the flames will keep the predators away._

_I don't want to leave you._

_I don't think you'll miss the birth if you build the fire now. Hurry; the time approaches. _

Then he and I pressed closer to each other briefly as I let out another feeble little whimper before Miles left to go just outside our burrow. I got up again briefly on hands and knees with a pathetic moan; I've never felt so helpless before… not even around my twin sister. I squirmed and crawled around, and later sat up with knees bent and sprawled my legs apart again. My instincts told me to lie down again. Then a glow from outside our den faded in quickly; Miles then returned. Shortly after a brief while, the pain did go away.

After a while, when I least expected it, the pain returned. It was even sharper and more intense than before. Miles tried to comfort me, but it only became irritating. Involuntarily, I started growling; Miles had his hand lightly resting on my distended belly; my growls became louder; Miles must have been confused; involuntarily, I snapped at him with an even louder growl. He backed away swiftly as I started feeling guilty. _Not too close. I don't want to hurt you. _, I said telepathically to my mate with a whimper. Eventually the pain faded away again.

The pain continued to return and fade repeatedly for a long while. As time passed, I started growing more and more tired; tired of the pain, tired from a lack of sleep, and tired of being so agitated and restless. I was almost starting to think I might be dying, but I was not going to allow that; no matter how hard I tried to stay calm and relax, the pain was still hard to deal with. As the pain started to return yet again, I felt a strange snap as I heard a small popping sound. Involuntarily, I leaned up against the pile of animal skins as I squatted and tried to stand. Suddenly, water began gushing from between my legs. I was very frightened by this, but not as much as Miles must have been; he let out a yelp; I growled at him briefly, but then I started feeling guilt for frightening him even more. I slid back down and sniffed the water; I couldn't have just let borrowed water out of me; this fluid had a different smell. My water sack must of burst. Not long after that I started having a heavy feeling deep in my crotch. The pain no longer faded away completely; instead it only faded in and out from not so painful to extremely painful. The pain only gotten worse; I had let out many moans and cries because of all that pain. I suddenly started having the urge to push. I looked up towards Miles and telepathically said, _The time has come._ Miles then headed closer to my crotch, so he could witness the birth of our cub. I followed my instincts and started to push with a small grunt. It felt as though my crotch was on fire after being stung by many bees and wasps. I turned on my side briefly with a loud cry. Then I turned on my back again gasping and panting. I started to push again; the burning felt worse, but I had to keep pushing just a little longer. I fell back on the animal skins as I continued gasping. The pushes and the brief rests in between continued for a while. Then I did one more push. Just when I thought my back end would split beyond healing, I felt something slip out as the burning in my crotch started to fade away. I heard a small yet loud cry come from near my crotch as I fell back on the rolled-up animal skins. The pain was gone, but not completely; either way I felt great relief.

After a few gasps and a sigh of relief, I rolled on my side and curled myself inward towards our newborn cub. Miles started sniffing our offspring curiously; involuntarily I let out another softer growl. He backed away slowly as I gently, yet swiftly drew the newborn closer to my chest. Tears of joy began to flow down my cheeks as I gazed lovingly at the small, vulnerable, helpless new member of our clan. Instinctually, I began licking the cub clean of the blood and birth goo starting with the removal of the broken water sack from the face. Then I remembered the life vine; the other predators would kill for such an easy meal: a new mother and her cub. Involuntarily, I began to devour what I could reach of the life vine; the rest would have to wait until the womb root would come out.

The newborn had let out a few whimpers as I continued cleaning; I glanced briefly at the crotch; we have a son. I saw his little eyes open; they were green like mine. Instinctually, I clutched him closer to my breasts and helped our newborn pull down part of my dress, exposing one of my breasts and its teat. Luckily, our son latched right on by instinct unlike some who need a little more encouragement. My mother must have taught me well in this subject; I'd of probably never known what my breasts were for without her advice.

As I waited for the womb root to emerge, I got a good look at the little cub in my arms. He bore a blond mane like Miles, a round little nose like mine, and an oblong head like that of my father. All that pain and suffering was worth it to have such a beautiful little son. Miles was still a little further away, curiously staring at our little cub. _Miles, come see your son. _, I said telepathically to the new father as he approached us slowly and quietly with a smile. I apologized to Miles for being so hostile with him. _It's alright, I understand I… I think. _, he replied. Not long after, I started feeling discomfort again. The womb root must be starting to emerge from my body. After a few pushes, it slid out. Involuntarily, I began devouring the womb root, despite my mate's disgusted look on his face. _Why would you eat that thing? _, he asked me with his mind as he still looked as though he might vomit. _It keeps the bigger predators away and I'll need to help my body make milk for our cub. _, I replied telepathically.

After having cleaned up the mess from giving birth, I lied back down; I was too tired to even return to our usual sleeping nest. Our cub was still suckling from my teat. _Have you found a name for our son? _, Miles asked me with his mind, apparently having forgotten about wanting to name our first son after his father. I looked down at our little cub, still in awe at how much he reminded me of my father. I knew the perfect name for our newborn.

_Arnold._

_Arnold? _

_I can't help but see a bit of my father in him._

Our cub had briefly stopped suckling to let out a happy little coo as if in approval. _Arnold… that suits him._ , Miles replied. I looked back down at our little cub as Miles began caressing his little hand with his finger. _Do you like your name little one? _, I asked our newborn lovingly with my mind. Little Arnold then took his father's finger in his little hand. _I'll take that as a yes._ , I replied as he turned back towards my breast to continue suckling. The light from the fire was still just as bright as it was when it was first lit. The future of our clan looked even brighter as Miles and I rubbed noses lovingly and our new journey into survival began. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep. 


End file.
